Found to be Batty
by JakobiFlyingFox
Summary: A story I've been working on to describe - with details - Batty's life before he ended up in Ferngully. This is sort of a prequel to the first movie. WARNING: some graphic content to follow. Nothing major, but still
1. Chapter 1

The name is Koda. _Batty_ Koda in full; and yes, I know the double meaning for it.

I'm a fruit bat that lives in a biology lab - one Mt. Warning Institute of Biology - where I've lived since I was a pup (which equates to about three years and nine stinkin' months I've spent in this rot-hole). The lab is a big building - don't ask me how I know this, because I've only been in four rooms. My holding unit - I know it fondly as The Cooler; the examination room - I remember many glorious hours spent there after experimentation, and the other two are the actual labs. My 'Cooler', or if you prefer, 'Apartment Complex Extraordinaire', is Room 1A, holds several other inmates of mine. Animal crates are lined and stacked up about the room in a surprisingly ordered fashion. In the middle of the room is an examination table upon which, as well as up on shelves and counter tops, are some things you would find in an animal room: syringes, test tubes, various chemicals in beakers, a computer, stethoscopes and doctoring equipment (in case an animal is feeling, ahem, under the weather), etc. So, you get a general idea of what my lifestyle is like. It's not really pretty.

Three of the cages across the room - about a nine-foot spread - hold some of my friends. Mooch, the white lab rat, is directly across from me. Below him is Skip, the black alley cat, and to his left is Heather, the rabbit. Below me is a chinchilla named Iris, and to my bottom right are two koalas: Hector and Gordon. Finally, to my direct left is Dave, another fruit bat. Something else lives in the cage to my right, but I never knew until a week or so ago: a Tasmanian devil.

The head of the lab is Jonah Darwin, a tall guy with black hair, dark eyes, a pointed nose, and an even pointier temper. So yeah, a real Sunshine guy. _Err!_ Wrong! The guy's a psycho with some sick pleasure invested in the torturing of animals just to satisfy some stupid scientific theories. Take me for example: thanks to my stay in this fun-house, I'm smaller than the average fruit bat of my species (_Pteropus scapulatus_)* and I have bigger eyes and ears. I'm also not what you would call robust. In fact, I'm quite scrawny, borderline emaciated. My list of treatments includes vivisections, pesticide and cosmetic testing, and electrocutions.

Oh yes, and I've also had an antenna implanted in my head which picks up radio and television signals. Don't ask me why, because I'm not too sure myself. I just know it has something to do with my nervous system or brain current or something like that. Anyway, I really hate the thing because it gives my pounding headaches and electrocutes me every once in a while when it's having a hard time getting a signal in, but when it picks one up, it clicks and sparks and I start jabbering nonsensically as an image flashes into my brain. Sometimes it's a radio commercial and other times I'm quoting from movies. I've even gotten a hold of the Oldies station. The problem with that is I'll start singing, and while I pride myself on having a not-too-shabby voice, well… others don't share my opinion.

Anyway, on this particular day, I had just gotten back from a grueling three hours in the lab where I was tested on several different types of cosmetics: this new waterproof mascara, some lead-filled lip gloss that tasted like sour cherries and some blemish cover-up. I'm sure by the time I was done I looked ridiculous as I imagined any human would after putting this stuff on.

When I got back to my cage I kind of flopped on the metal floor. My antenna sparked and I started chattering crazily. "Hey, boys and girls, guess what time it is? '_I love you, you love me, we're all one big family_',"

"Hey, Koda," Skip drawled from across the room. He sounded relatively calm, as if this happened all the t-... oh wait, it does. "Uppercut to the chin!"

I did automatically and the antenna sparked once and then was quiet. I rolled my eyes. That's one way to get the images to stop coming: I literally have to hit myself, or someone has to kindly oblige and smack me.

The alley cat nodded. "That was close, you almost short-circuited."

"_Fractured figs!_ I've been short-circuiting ever since I had this dumb thing implanted in my cranium!" To emphasize, I poked the antenna with my thumb claw and it started up again. It clicked and suddenly I caught the theme music to Mystery Science Theater. As you can see, hitting myself can have reverse effects.

_The logic is erratic, potato in a jacket, toys in the attic..._

* * *

Okay, rule number one of being a bat: you have to have radar fields. What happened to mine? They're depleted. Yeah, since I'm slightly altered I don't have any. And you know those sonic airwaves bats can have as well? Don't have those either, but that wasn't done artificially. Fruit bats like myself of the family _Pteropodidae_ in the order _Megachiroptera_ (big hand-wing) don't use echolocation to find their food, because fruit for the main part stays stationary; unlike our smaller cousins of the order _Microchiroptera_, (little hand-wing), who rely on echolocation to find their insect food.

After a nice refreshing breakfast, I was taken out again. I didn't bother struggling because I knew it would be no use. The scientists here don't really like it if you retaliate.

I was brought into the lab again where I was literally dipped into red, blue and yellow paints. My antenna didn't like it that much and shocked me throughout the whole ordeal. The scientists, after dipping me, set me on the table to record my reactions. The paint was thick and gloppy and I just kind of tripped all over the examination table where they set me. I was blinking ten times a second to keep the stuff from getting in my eyes and so I didn't really have a good feel on where I was going until I nearly fell off the table.

I was picked up by one of the scientists after about three more minutes of staggering and slipping and put under a jet of cold water to get all the paint off me. _Short circuit side-effects!_ The stream stung like a horde of wasps!

After I was rinsed I was plopped onto a towel and rubbed dry. Once the towel was taken off, my still-damp fur stuck out in spikes up and down my body, and my wings were dripping. My antenna was less than grateful, sparking every three seconds like it was trying to say 'I didn't like that', and giving me another one of those signature migraines.

The scientist who had rinsed and dried me plucked me up off the counter where he had set me after his crude job of drying and laundered me back to my cage where he dropped me hurriedly inside, quickly locked the door and rushed out. I glared after him. That was Victor, the clumsy, crummy newbie who was fresh out of college. You'd think that after having studied biology for four or so years, he wouldn't act so clueless and skittish upon first seeing an animal in a cage.

Although, I am partly to blame for his fear: I hate that guy's guts and am terrified of him as well, yet I always seem to be stuck with him. I don't like to brag, but I'm a big - well, medium-sized bat, if you consider a height of six-point-five inches 'medium' - and as such I can have a pretty big temper, and no one wants a bat with a two-and-a-half foot wingspan, sharp teeth and claws flapping and shrieking away in their hold. Victor was one of them. I admit, it was a lot of fun to freak him out, but the guy had some serious issues with his fright-reflexes. If he was startled from behind, he swung his arm around, hitting whoever it was, usually Darwin. If I or any of the other animals in here made a sudden movement and he was nearby, he would jump five feet in the air. And if he happened to be holding us, he would squeeze us. Let me tell you, it's no fun being squeezed by him. The guy's got a grip like a constrictor.

I got up from my cage floor and peered out through the bars. The antenna clicked, but no signal was picked up, although my head twitched violently to the side like I was doing a double-take. Mooch and Skip were both asleep across from me. Well, Skip was, Mooch was sleep-walking. I'm telling you, that rat has a serious problem upstairs. Not that I'm completely sane myself.

A voice next door startled me. "Koda?" It was a low, quiet voice. Dave.

"_Hola, amigo,_" I chattered. "How's life on the other side of this hunk of metal?"

I heard a chuckle and there came the reply, "Adaptable, and you?"

"I'm thinking of having a tea party to celebrate the utter fabulousness of it all," I answered, my head twitching as the antenna sparked again.

Dave chuckled again, but was quiet after that.

_I rock n' I ramble, my brain is **scrambled!**_

* * *

*Little red Flying Fox - this is the bat I feel most closely resembles Batty Koda. This is just an opinion, not a fact.

Also, the little italicized phrases: 'fractured figs', etc. are actual curses from Batty in the book.

A/N: soooo, whaddya think? ;) Read, Review, Leave a Comment


	2. Chapter 2

"Shave his head, you idiot! It's just an animal, what can it do to you?"

Darwin was in a tip-top mood today, as was I before Victor came to fetch me. I had put on my usual grandiose performance of hissing and spitting as well as puffing out my chest, but I was nabbed anyway. Today's carnival of fun started with my being strapped to a table in one of the exam rooms and Darwin and two other people putting on surgical masks and bending low over me, as if deciding whether or not I was an animal or a fungus. Since I was rendered immobile by the rawhide strips, I couldn't do anything as Victor readied a small razor. The outcome looked either to be a vivisection or a cranium-check. The latter was proven a second later as Victor lowered the buzzing razor closer and closer to the right side of my head.

I must have twitched because otherwise, Victor wouldn't have flinched, causing the razor to come within micrometers of my eye. I squeaked and struggled. Victor gulped loudly. I could tell he was nervous about shaving a conscious animal, but I was nervous about having my cranium punctured if he missed.

Darwin, before Victor could try again, yanked the razor away from him and, holding my head steady, shaved the right side of my head, opposite from my antenna side. My heart thumped in my chest until I was sure it would pop out. Darwin had a look that could kill and I didn't need him any angrier than he was now.

Once he was finished, I let out the breath I had been holding all that time. With that breath, I started struggling again. I wanted out of this room and away from Darwin.

A few of the scientists noticed my attempts at escape and ratted me out to Darwin, who was readying something or other on another table. I heard him growl, "If he moves again, medicate him."

Medicate him… Medicate him. Medicate _me_? The words rang in my skull as a syringe was handed to one of the scientists on my left. _Pock!_ A second of pain in my stomach and the needle was withdrawn, leaving me with the sickening thought even as my eyelids drooped: how long would I be out? Hey, I've had experiences with this type of stuff and on the rarest of occasions I've been out for twelve hours if not more. That anesthetic is powerful stuff.

Before I conked out, I heard Darwin point out, "As you can see, animals don't really feel pain, they just get used to it."

_Ouch._

* * *

When I came to, my head hurt so bad I thought it would roll off and I couldn't stop shivering. I found myself back in my cage, flat on my back with a small blanket over me. Hesitantly, I touched the right side of my head. It was bandaged and still felt numb from the Novocain they injected me with. I winced as I withdrew my claw.

Staggering to my feet, I kicked hard at the wall of my cage. Uncontrollable shivers ran up and down my spine. One of the things I always worry about after having an experiment which involves cutting me open is whether or not the instruments are sterilized. I've seen some animals that get really, _really_ bad infections after an ordeal like that, which, according to me, is pretty unfair. Ya put us through drugs, razors, scalpels, and all those other wonderful implements of toture, but you forget to check on whether or not they're _clean?_

_It's just... not fair. _Nothing here is fair. I settled back onto my blanket again, miserably and allowed my eyelids to close.

* * *

Oh, warped banana peels. The next morning I awoke feeling little better than a zombie. Still lying on my back, I felt my face. A little scarred, big surprise, but I didn't feel anything abnormal, which was a relief. I can't tell you how many times I've woken up with some sort of… Well, let's just leave it at that.

It had to be around five or six in the morning because the light from the far window was gray, not a piercing yellow like the sun would emit. The scientists wouldn't be here for another hour or so, so I had time to catch forty winks and perhaps envision an alternate world where we didn't live in cages and didn't have scientists injecting anesthetics in our veins, but for some reason, I didn't feel like I could fall back asleep. I grumbled as I realized I was awake for good.

I got to my feet, wobbled a bit, and lurched my way onto the bars of my cage. They felt colder than usual, or maybe that was just me. I looked around the room at the sleeping figures of my friends. Well, they were more than friends, really. Almost family. Mooch across from me was on his back, paws in the air, snoring his heart out. Below him, Skip was curled up so tight I wondered if he would pop.

I jumped at a sound to my left. Was Dave awake, too? I tapped on the wall. "Hey Dave?" I whispered.

A deep chuckle sounded, and then, "So you're awake too, I take it?"

I smiled for the first time that day, well for the first time in a while, actually. I don't smile much, not unless I'm getting back at Darwin or Victor, when I get a case of the fuzzies around Alice, the pretty animal care doctor here at the lab who named me, or when I'm razzing Iris the chinchilla. "Yeah, I just woke up, what about you?"

"I've been awake for a while now." A moment of silence. "I don't sleep that much anymore." Before too long, Dave's mood brightened.

"So, how was your brain-check?"

I almost broke into a choking laugh. How was my 'brain-check'? As if it was a _good_ thing? I answered, somewhat sarcastically, "_Infra-red_, what can I say? You probably know the insides and outs of all the procedures here. The umbrella drinks, the smell of balmy breezes, the rawhide straps. Yep, it was just bodacious."

I could tell Dave found that funny in a rather twisted way. But what would you expect from a group of brain-fried individuals?

_Red wires, green wires, stuck 'em right through me!_

* * *

I braced myself. It was the middle of the afternoon and as of yet I hadn't been taken out. Were they letting me recover? I hated all this suspense. If they weren't planning on experimenting on me today, couldn't they have moved my cage to the ICU where I could be _positive_ they wouldn't be coming for me? But _nooo_… they had to leave me out in the Apartment Complex Extra... oh, to heck with it; my _Cooler_, clinging to the bars, eyes boring into the face of each intern or lab member as they walked in and out, taking or returning one of us each time. But it was never me...

I felt like screaming, 'Hey Darwin! I'm ready for you, man! Come and get me!' But I knew that all that would come out, at least to humans, would be one long scratchy squeak, so what was the point?

My left eye twitched and I felt my face go hot. My claws and wing membrane also tightened around the bars of my cage. "I hate this place!" I finally said through my clenched teeth. Tears stung my dry, bloodshot eyes and I let go of the bars and slumped to the floor.

* * *

It wasn't until the next day when I was fetched. But it wasn't for an experiment, to my surprise. My fetcher was Alice. She stopped in front of my cage, fumbling with her large, clanking ring of keys before she fitted one into the slot and opened the door. Normally, whenever my cage is opened, I back up into the farthest corner and try to scare the pants off anyone who dares to open that door, but Alice was different. Blinking her dark-lashed, big brown eyes and smiling that careful smile of hers, she bent so she was eye-level with me. I was on all fours, scurrying caustiously towards her. She reached in a gloved hand that smelled of lilacs and I hopped on.

Okay, before I go on, let me just say, I'm not in love with Alice. I 'like' her because, well, she named me, and I never fel threatened or compromised when I'm with her. She's gentle, she's... I guess she's pretty, for human standards. I'm not really an expert on the meaning of beauty, being a bat and all. She ferried me out of the animal room towards the research room where she works, the ICU, one of the few rooms I have no nicknames for. I was guessing that Darwin wanted me to have a check-up after my 'appointment' the other day.

Alice walked in, holding me in her hands. One thing: I know I said at the beginning of this story that I hate latex gloves, and I know that Alice was wearing latex gloves, but I didn't associate my fear of them with her. She used them because she had to, because her work required clean hands and… oh, _rip snort_, I'll get back to the story now.

Gerry, the second person I could classify as nice, was seated at a desk, typing something into a computer when Alice walked by. He looked up and smiled. "Hey, it's the Bat-man!" He saluted.

I rolled my eyes. Yeah okay, Gerry can joke around some, but he's _gentle_; he doesn't squeeze you like Victor does. Kind of funny, considering they both went to the same college and graduated with the same degree.

Alice carried me to one of the CAT-scans. I allowed myself to be strapped to the little table - quite gracious of me, considering my intense dislike for this thing. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, watching Alice out of my peripherals. She was at the computer a few feet away, typing. The next moment, I heard a 'click' and then a whirr as the table mechanically moved slowly through the donut-shaped gadjet, and then slowly back.

I waited after I finished my little ride, laying on the table until Alice unstrapped me and picked me back up. I snagged a few quick glances as she carried me back to my cage. Nothing too fancy, just several cross-sections of black-and-white photos of a rather emaciated fruit bat's skull.

After she put me back, I peeked around the corner of my cage, watching as Alice stepped out and the door closed. There was a moment of silence and a voice below me sniggered. "Yowzers, we've got a peeping tom!"

I frowned and turned my head downwards to glare at Iris, whose furry, rabbit-like face was smirking up at me. "_Rip snort,_" I chattered. "I-they replaced Benny?" Benny... used to inhabit the cage below me. He was a beagle that had to be euthanized a few months ago due to a major case of worms he'd developed. I would have preferred Benny over Iris anytime. At least Benny didn't sass back. "You should consider speaking up more… actually, never mind, I like the silence."

Iris didn't sound offended. "Pft," she shook her head. "Koda's got a thing for Alice, Koda's got a thing for Alice…" she chanted.

My face went red. "I _so_ do not, not any more than you have a thing for Darwin, or Victor!"

Mooch, joining in, broke into peals of squeaky laughter. "That's great!" He said between gulps for air. "'Iris, Darwin and Victor, sittin' in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g!'"

Heather started giggling. "Ew, all _three_ of them?"

That did it. We all started laughing, I mean, rolling-around-on-our-cage-floors laughing. I think even Iris joined in.

We don't often laugh all together like this, so even though it was a joke at another's expense (seriously, I don't think Iris minded; she's got a tough hide with an attitude to match), we were all happy for the change of pace.

_My Nurse, I need a check-up from the neck-up, I'm Batty!_


	3. Chapter 3

Early the next morning, I was hanging upside down from the little swing in my cage roof when I heard the double doors creak open. I immediately snapped awake, dropped to the floor of my cage, and crawled slowly over to the bars, dreading what was coming next. As of yet, I hadn't been taken out to play, so I had no idea what was going to become of me today. But, sure enough, Victor's skittish little form appeared, fumbling with the ring of jangling keys. He stopped in front of my cage, found the right key and stuck it into the lock. I backed up to the corner of my cage and spread my wings in a threatening posture and puffed out my chest. _Puff up... humans hate it when you puff up._

Victor jumped and backed away a few paces. I hissed at him for added emphasis and my fur stood on end, making me appear at least one and a half times bigger than I usually am.

The only problem was that Victor came back, a rather makeshift look like determination - _pfft_, determination mixed with bewilderment - on his face. I raised my wings over my head, and stood on tiptoe, hissing and spitting until I was sure I would empty my saliva reserves, and making my fur stand out even more. _Aw, snap_, the grad unlocked and opened the door, then reached inside.

Adrenaline taking a firm hold of me, I lunged forward the next instant and sunk my teeth into his finger. Victor squealed - yes, he squealed - and smacked his hand against the cage wall, slamming me into it. He snatched his hand out, staring at the bleeding cut – I still couldn't believe I had bit him that hard – on his right index finger. He kept looking from his finger to me, from his finger to me… incredulously.

I had dropped to the cage floor, a little loopy from being hit that hard, but I managed to stand back up and tense for my next attack.

Victor tried again, only to be bitten this time on his wrist. I jumped back in time before the reflexes took over and landed in the back corner of my cage. Humans hate it when you do that, too. You're harder to get at when you're in the back corner, especially if ya fold yourself into a corkscrew position. Mooch and Skip, across the room, started whooping and cheering my efforts when it became apparent I was winning this fight. I allowed a little smirk to play across my face, but then glared, poised to react for when Victor... _Where's he go?..._

Victor had retreated to the left, over to the cabinets, and when he reappeared, I had a mini breakdown. _Gloves!_ He was wearing _Latex gloves!_ That wasn't playing_ fair! _

However, not really seeming to care about what was fair and what wasn't - humans will do that - Victor reached in one more time and I attacked, but my teeth didn't go through so I was left kind of gumming Victor's wrist. _Dangit... _I squealed when Victor grabbed my foot, picking me up. I flapped and struggled wildly, making it plain that I would rather infect myself with White Nose than come out of this cage. I would have told him that, too, if I could speak 'Human'. Victor ferried me out, upside down, shrieking in rage and flapping my wings wildly, out of the room.

He wheeled left and then right, and then stepped through a pair of double doors. As I turned around, my eyes narrowed. Darwin was there, along with several other people who I did not recognize. But they looked far too young to have been in the business long. Darwin was setting something up as Victor, with me in tow, walked up. It looked like an electrical transmitter that all these wires were hooked up to. What was going on here? Not the foggiest clue.

Darwin looked up from the transmitter. "Put him on the table," he instructed Victor. "He needs the cap and the wires."

Victor brought me over where he laid me flat on my back and strapped me to the table. But loosely. My legs were free, and so were my wings. I had the fleeting thought of _Hey, maybe this aint' gonna be that bad. He's totally asking for a beating, letting me loose like this._ After that, he took what looked like half a Ping-Pong ball with snarled strands of red and green wires stuck into the top of it that also connected to the transmitter-thing, and placed it snugly over my head. I glanced around. The other people in the room were just standing there like dummies with clipboards in hands. Was this another epic like my brain-check? With an audience this time? I grimaced thoughtfully, and my antenna sparked. _Did they really want to see my brain?_

Victor stepped up again, this time with a few red and green wires in hand. I raised an eyebrow, but both shot up at what happened next. He stuck them in me! _Pop_! A red wire was stuck in my abdomen; _pop_! another in my leg.

I squeaked - well, more like squawked - and tried struggling, but when Victor ties you down, you _stay _tied down. A few more wires were inserted into my body , and then Victor straightened. I had a wire each in my shoulders, two in both legs and three in my stomach and chest. The wires had needle points, which obviously _should_ have meant they were easier to insert, but they still stung like eye-drops gone wrong, or lemon juice over a cut, or hydrogen peroxide over... ya get the idea.

Just then, the room went silent. Darwin's voice rang out in all its splendor. "All right, graduate students, if you would please gather 'round, we'll commence with the testing."

A humming noise came from the transmitter and I heard a small crackle, and the next minute, a shock hit me in the leg, which spasmed and jerked like I was shaking it awake. _Liquid detergents, _did it tingle!I heard Darwin explaining something or other about the 'what and how it happened'. I didn't catch it. When I'm the object of his - questionable - interest, I just kinda kick back and barely tolerate the ride. I don't need scientific facts drilled into my head when they're happening _live_ on _my own body_. There was a momentary pause and then I was shocked again, this time in my shoulder. It jerked violently upwards, like I was performing some sort of highly exaggerated shrug. I could not believe it: my movements were being controlled by this stupid machine;_ I had no power over my own limbs!_

Darwin's voice came through my muddled thoughts as clear as a bell. "You see how the electrical currents course through the bat's body, which is exactly what the nervous system does as it relays messages throughout our entire system."

Okay, that little bit of information was pretty cool, and I almost forgot that I was strapped to a table until I felt another jolt in my stomach, and the present was restored in all its glorious madness and painful reality. A sound much like a nail scraping against glass to escape my throat. _Yow, that was painful!_

Victor was over at the transmitter, manning all the electrical currents that found their way into my body. The graduate student pressed a button at the top of the transmitter every time Darwin gave a gesture. The group of people was obviously fresh out of college and was on some sort of inquiry pilgrimage, a. k. a, looking for jobs. I watched between shocks as the people raised their hands, asking 'what about this', and 'is this what happens when'. Darwin answered them as he gestured to Victor, who pressed the button again. The next shock I'll remember: it hit me in the chest. At that point I was fed up and as the current zapped me, I flipped.

Screaming so loud I thought my lungs would burst, I arched my back in the moment it took for the electricity to hit its mark. And then my heart stopped, just like that. After the zap, I stopped breathing. I actually felt myself shut down. As my eyelids drooped shut, I heard Victor freaking out, and then Darwin broke in with a low, gruff voice. "Zap him where he got hit before."

Victor pressed the button, and the shock hit my chest again. Like a literal lightning bolt, my heart started up again and I sucked in a gulp-ful of air. I had never realized what it was like to come this close to cashing in my chips. I could just lay there, staring out at nothing, panting. Then Darwin's voice,

"As you just witnessed, electricity can be both the heart's undoing and waker-upper. The current courses through a still heart and starts it up again, but I do advise you to…"

I zoned out after that. Darwin was such a smooth talker and with his science-smarts, he was unstoppable. The guy was an evil genius, let me tell you.

* * *

When I got back to my cage, I couldn't stop twitching. My fur was burnt and could still hear - and feel - the zaps of electricity. Plus, I was bandaged where the wires had been stuck in me. Mooch wasn't in his cage, I noticed, and neither was Skip. I suddenly remembered that both had a physical. Every other week in the afternoon, since Skip and Mooch weren't used that much, other than to test the brain's coherence through mazes (Mooch) and scent recognition (Skip), both were taken out for a few hours to see how they had managed the past week and perhaps to set up new obstacles for them. Dave and Heather, who were both getting on in years, had also been laid off on.

Dave was in his cage when I sort of staggered to my back corner. He must have heard me tumble and scratch my way over the slippery metal to the back, because the next moment as I curled up, I heard a quiet voice come to me.

"Koda?"

_Liquid-freaking-detergents_, couldn't I just get a few moments to collect myself? I mumbled something back. Dave's voice came again, this time slightly louder. He wasn't normally a loud-speaker, so when he did raise his voice a couple notches, that meant he had the floor. "What happened?"

"I was fried, _okay_?" it came out a little harsher than I intended, but he had to understand why I wasn't feeling so spiffy.

"'Fried', huh?" Iris' smarmy voice tugged at my ears. "What, were you dunked in the French-fry vat at McDonald's or something?" A tittering beneath me caused me to stagger to my feet. Hector, or Gordon, or maybe it was another animal. The Tasmanian devil, maybe, or that bullfrog a few cages away. I hauled myself to my feet. The battle was on.

Iris pointed out, "Well, it must not have been so bad, because you're up now."

I frowned. "My fur is now the color of burnt toast, and my limbs are shaking like I just stepped into a 50-below freezer."

Iris answered matter-of-factly. "So? What's so dramatic about that?"

I had to agree, but not out loud. Iris had had her fair share of electricity treatments and she had come out fine. Maybe_ I_ was the one who was losing it.

But still, I wasn't willing to give up that easily. I hissed, "My heart stopped, Buck-Face."

Dave, beside me, agreed understandingly. "It's a tough thing to get exposed to."

Iris wasn't satisfied. "Maybe for the first time," she snapped. "I'll have you know, that way before Batty up there arrived, I would be having _two_ fryings daily."

I didn't believe her; no one here had two of the same experiment on the same day. They gave you at least a day to recover, and then they would start up again, but I didn't point that out to her; I didn't need to come off like a know-it-all, much less a brain-fried know-it-all.

But I did come back with, "You certainly do have an electric personality; maybe that was a side effect."

"You better shove those words back into your pie-hole, bat." Iris growled.

I stuck my tongue out. "Open up your little door and make me,"

Dave's voice sounded tired, "Come on guys, we're all in this together; the least we can do is stick by and help each other through. Koda, I'm sorry you had a rough day; and Iris, try to be a little more sympathetic. I realize it's hard for you too, but just try."

I slumped back down on my cage floor but bolted back up as the double doors opened. It turned out to be Alice, and she was headed right for my cage. I scurried to the back. _Geez,_ did I have to _spell-out_ that I wanted time alone?

Alice looked me over. "You seem okay," she opened the door. "I'm just gonna have a quick look, though."

Before I realized it, I hissed as she reached into the back and grabbed me. Why couldn't they just leave me alone? Alice looked surprised at my behavior as she held me up to her face. I calmed down. She laid me out on the table and checked me over. Opened my mouth, checked my ears, everything seemed in working order, except for the fact that quite a bit of my fur was singed.

She put me back, stared at me for a few moments and then left. Below, Gordon snickered in his Aussie accent, "Guess who just got put on Alice's Hate-List?"

"I didn't mean to," I protested hotly. "I've just had a very unpleasant day. I didn't ask her to come in and check on me; why can't they just leave me alone?!"

My outburst caused me to flop onto my back. I was tired; so very, very tired and upset. I hoped Alice didn't hate me.

* * *

Mooch and Skip came back in later in the day; almost three hours after I had returned. I still couldn't believe they had been gone that long. Skip looked as happy as a damp cactus and even Mooch was quiet. To tell the truth, I missed them.

Skip was the first to notice me staring at him. "What are you looking at?"

Rebuffed, I backed off. Mooch had curled up and was now fast asleep.

"How'd it go, Skip?" Dave asked gently.

"Lousy," Skip rolled onto his back. "Just another reminder that I'm no longer in my prime. They're thinking of putting us in this crack-pot obstacle course."

It was only then that Skip acknowledged me. "How was your day, Koda?"

I turned back around, a little surprised at this sudden moodswing. "I got fried."

Skip rolled back over on his stomach. "I see; your fur looks lovely."

I was even more surprised at that remark. I glanced over at the cat's face. A slight smile, which meant he wanted to talk. I almost breathed a sigh of relief. I hadn't lost a fellow furred one.


	4. Chapter 4

Oh, boy. I cannot even begin to describe how the next day went. My stomach is still churning...

I hadn't been fed at my usual time that morning - lucky me - which could only mean two things. I'd been forgotten, or another roller coaster of fun and stomach aches-testing. Anyway, mid-morning arrived and I jolted out of a daydream at the sound of the double doors opening. I peeked out to see Darwin and Dmitri come striding up to… of course… my cage. Here they stopped. Darwin had a clipboard in his hand and he was flipping through the papers on it.

At a minute nod from Darwin, not pausing in his flipping of pages, Dmitri went to the mini fridge where our food was stored and returned with a diet container that I quickly recognized as mine. Dmitri took out three divided portions of what was supposed to be my breakfast quickly - a little too quickly for my tastes - deposited the contents into a small bowl. Darwin turned and handed Dmitri… what? _C'mon! that's my_ food_ you're manhandling or whatever you're doing to it over there! Lemme see!_ I was starting to get that bad feeling when you're starin' down medicine you know tastes like something crawled in and died and won't be goin' down your throat in a million years. Times eight-billion.

Anyway, they turned back around and Dmitri opened my cage door a smidge, just enough so he could push one of the bowls through. I hissed at him, wanting to see him flip out, but unfortunately he didn't, _fractured figs._

I crept slowly up to the bowl, sniffing it. Whatever was in there, I didn't smell anything off. My menu today was pineapple, banana, and mango cubes, which happened to be my favorite.

I didn't trust this, though. I squinted up at Darwin, really really wanting to have the power of human speech to say 'you outta your mind? You take a bite of this first, and let's see how you like it'. Both scientists held clipboards but only Darwin looked ready to use it – Dmitri was using it as a shield.

I sighed, resigned, and leaned forward until I could lick one of the fruit cubes with my tongue. _Hm_, unless my taste buds had died in my sleep, it tasted like regular banana. And Pavlov would have been proud of how much I was salivating at that point, so I ignored the unease and started chowing down.

Halfway through my breakfast, I tasted something strange, sort of bitter and I_ know_ that fruit does not taste bitter. I am a fruit _bat_ after all. It wasn't that apparent at first, but then totally out of the blue, my stomach gave a lurch and my head went with it. I couldn't really do much as I flopped onto the floor of my cage, gagging and twitching. _Short circuit side effects_! What'd they do to me?

Darwin smirked and whispered something to Dmitri, who hesitantly reached in and snatched my bowl away. I tried to spit at him but it didn't work, I ended up drooling saliva out of the corner of my mouth. It was awful, I could just lay there like I'd been paralyzed, because I was sure one false move and I'd eject everything I'd just eaten. Which wouldn't have been so bad as it already tasted horrible, but it was still the only thing I'd eaten all morning and I was starving.

_On second thought... _My stomach churned and my head was reeling. Ugh, and the bitter taste hadn't left my mouth. It felt like someone had shoved a cloud of noxious gas in-between my teeth. Out of the corner of my clouding vision, I heard Darwin, "Good, we have just two more tests to run and then we should be on schedule for the next batch."

Dmitri whispered something in a worried tone. Darwin heaved a heavy sigh, _oh-so-apparent_ with concern. "He'll be fine, let's go."

_What? I'd be _fine_?_ Obviously, Darwin needed to study up on his mammalian behaviors and he would probably realize that fruits bats who convulse after eating... _something _you slipped 'em would _not_be fine. My stomach growled angrily again and I whimpered, not wanting to move but not wanting to stay in one place. Maybe if I just laid here quietly for a couple of minutes the bad feeling would go away and then I'd –

"Koda?" Mooch's voice came out of nowhere and I jerked up in surprise like I'd been electrocuted. Big mistake and oh look, the cleaning crew had something extra to tidy up, now.

After I was certain nothing else was coming up, I staggered to my feet and crumpled onto the bars of my cage in a rather pathetic sort of rag-dollish flop. "Wha izit, Mooch?" I gurgled, wincing as my stomach growled.

"Oh, nothing," Mooch crept over to the bars. "You just weren't moving that's all, and I was getting worried."

Next moment, a fiery missile of sick fruit bat-fury came whistling out of my cage and smacked the rat on the nose. My little enrichment toy bounced to the floor after the attack. It was a gruesome one.

* * *

The good news: the other two tests remaining were not performed on me; the bad news was they were still performed, I just didn't know who the lucky duck was.

It was a couple days later and I hung upside down in my cage, brooding. Ever since I got here, I've been thinking about escape, and I'm pretty sure that's what everyone here has thought when they arrived, it's just that no one has done anything about it.

But I am. I'm escaping. No, I don't know how, I just know that's what I'm gonna do - get out of this torture chamber and get back to where I used to live. My fried brain still holds a few memories of before I was captured:

I had a huge colony – we would spend hours roosting in huge canopy trees, sleeping through the night and hunting fruit during the day. I was barely a teen when they took me, but I remember I had two sisters... what were their names? Ugh, my head ached. I swung slowly back and forth, upside down, until the throbbing dulled. That always happened whenever I thought too hard, I'd end up with my brain in a knot.

* * *

That night, I was just about to close my eyes when from across the room, I heard this voice. "Kodaaa…"

_Mooch, please, anytime but now... _"Koda!" the voice whispered harshly.

I wonder if it was possible to kill someone at long-distance. I dropped to the floor of my cage from the little bar I was just roosting on, and peeked out through my cage bars. The flickering florescent tube overhead revealed the hyperactive rodent, pressing his face against the bars.

"Whadya want, Mooch?" I growled, annoyed at being woken up just when I was about to fall asleep. _I swear, if this rat's just sleep-talking..._

Mooch tittered and pointed up at the wall behind him. "Ya see that?" he whispered.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, so what?" Was he just checking to see if I still had my vision?

Mooch tittered again. I clenched a bunch of wing leather, trying to contain my anger. "Ya see that ventilation system up there?"

Vaguely, but yes I could. So what?

"Ya know where that leads?" Mooch sounded excited.

"Probably not," I said through my teeth. "I don't suppose you'd be getting to the point anytime soon-ish, would you?"

Mooch's voice dropped to a low hiss. "It leads outside. That's a way out!"

I perked up instantly. Bad feelings, whatever murderous inclinations I'd just had, _poof! _gone."What did you say?" I whispered back.

Mooch sounded proud of himself. "That's a way out, Koda."

"How do you know?"

"I know," Mooch said, sounding slightly offended, "Because my brother found his way out of here through there." He started pacing back in forth in front of his cage, a little ADHD tendency he had whenever he stayed for two long in the same position.

"You had a _brother_ here?" Did I really sound that jealous?

"Yeah, Rufus." He stopped pacing. "This-this was awhile back. Before you came, anyway. We were gonna escape together, but I was nabbed before I made it into the duct." He paused. "But he got through. He said he was gonna find a way out, and he'd get us all outta here. Least, that's what he said whenever he came back."

"Came back?" _Why _would anyone come back here?

"Yeah, report back an' such. Anyways, haven't heard from him but I know he's back there." His ears pricked up. "Ya know, we should tell the gang in the morning so we can come up with a plan." He fixed his beady black eyes on me.

_Plan? _"For... everyone?"

"Yeah, for everyone!" Mooch giggled devilishly. Never thought I'd hear that rat sounding devilish. It was creepy and unwelcome, but strangely amusing. "Nice surprise for Darwin!"

_That _was more my language.

"Should we tell 'em?"

"Oh, we'll tell 'em. Just... wait until it's daylight." I flapped back up to my roost. "G'night, Mooch."

"...Koda?"

"Yeah?"

"You wanna hear about this cool dream I had?"


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning, good ol' Iris shot Mooch's idea out of the sky like a one-winged duck. "We're getting out through the _ventilation system_?" Iris sounded appalled, as if the rat was well-known for spewing ridiculous ideas... which in effect he sort of was. "Did Darwin's last experiment do something _else _to your brain, or what brains you had left?"

I can usually keep my cool on when Iris speaks, but this had gone too far. "Well, ex-_cuse_ us for trying to save your mangy hide, you overgrown dust bunny!"

Skip reminded us of what was at stake. "I'm gonna tear someone's face off in a minute if you don't get to the point!" Well, more or less. The cat hadn't woken up well - I for one blamed Mooch and his high-pitched yammering at everyone to get up.

Mooch was stuck, for once - interesting how in certain situations you just wanted to sew his lips shut, but this time you actually wanted, no _needed _to hear him talk. My antenna crackled, making my head jerk to the side, and with that came a great idea. "My antenna!" I bleeped. All ears turned to me. "I can pick my lock, right? It's wire, it'll do it, and then-!" Good old Skip chimed in as the official kill-joy.

"Dude, if you use your antenna for anything more than a radio receiver, you're gonna short-circuit. And I for one don't appreciate the stench of fried bat."

I felt deflated to put it kindly. Squashed would be another way to put it; trampled, smashed... "Then any bright ideas from_ your end_, Einstein?" Man, I really hate it when I say things like that, especially if the other party actually **has** a good answer.

"As a matter of fact," Skip answered lazily as he stretched. "I do. You could probably use your wires to get yourself out – totally implausible as it is – but if you're so concerned about the rest of us, might I suggest using something that isn't tapped into your brain system?"

I tapped my antenna as he said that, and a vision floated before my eyes. I shivered then, knowing he was right. Not that I would ever say it to that smug kitty's face. Skip seemed to realize that he had me and smirked. "Listen, Bat-man," he purred. "I personally favor the distraction method."

"Distraction, riiiight," I so wanted this plan to fail just to rub it in his face.

Skip's eyes twinkled. Ugh, I can't believe I just said that, 'twinkled'. "Never underestimate distraction." He knew he had our attention and he totally flaunted it. "I've done this a million times - yowling like my stomach's rupturing. Those dweebs'll come in all worried about poor lil' kitty and as soon as that door opens, I pounce 'em. Never fails." I knew he was right - I'd seen it happen a million times. Funny how these humans never caught on.

"And how does _your_ revenge help us?" Iris snapped up.

Skip sneered back, "I'll get the keys during the scuffle. They'll scramble like roaches after they get me back in."

"They'll notice!" I blurted. _Eat that!_

Skip started licking his paws. "Naw, they won't." _Rip-snort, do you have to rain on my parade?_

"I disagree" Heather spoke up, surprising us all. "Skip, you have to take failure into account. Especially with the senior lab members- they never miss a trick." _Heather to the bat's rescue._

Skip growled his disappointment, but agreed. Dave chuckled, finally offering his two cents. "The key-nap sounds pretty foolproof, and since it is Skip we're talking about, I'd say we give it a shot. However, I'd feel better if we have a backup plan."

I smugly raised a wing, languidly leaning out of the bars. "Wire-pick, anyone?"

"**I got somethin'!**" All eyes turned to Mooch, who was grinning like a freakish Jack O' Lantern. "Check **this** baby out!" he proudly whipped a small pen out from behind his back.

"Where'd you get that?" Iris asked, flatly.

"Alice," Mooch snickered. "Her desk is covered with 'em!"

_How in all that's noticeable did Alice not notice a rat snitchin' a pen from her desk?_

Dave approved. "Nice work, Mooch."

Well, he certainly lived up to his name. "Everyone, listen up!" Dave called around the room. "We're trying for a room-wide escape," he paused, looking at Mooch. "Tomorrow night! We'll pick the locks so everyone can get out, and then we're escaping through the ventilation system! Mooch here has resources on the other side!"

_Ergo, enjoy your last night in Hell, _mi amigos.

* * *

That night was_ oh-so_ worth it, despite my mind-numbing experiences earlier. Iris and I had spent the entire day together - lucky us - in one of the labs while we were being tested on some new make-up formula. _Short circuits!_ My eyes still stung from where some eyeliner was accidentally applied; and I ended up with an allergic reaction from the lip gloss. Seriously, an allergic reaction to lip gloss? _You kidding me? _What did they put in this stuff, _poison ivy?_

Although this would earn me a chuckle later on, I wasn't amused in the slightest to look like a runaway from a Halloween freak show. Honestly, what do humans see in that stuff? I fail to see the attraction, but maybe that's because we fruit bats are pretty lax about our looks: female mates with suitable male after the male spends x-amount of time screeching sweet nothings in her ear*****, and the both of them raise a family - that's pretty much it.

Anyway, all of us in Room 1A waited, hardly daring to breathe as the lights were snapped off and the last of the lab assistants left for the night. To be safe, we waited another ten minutes just to be sure. Did I mention I hate waiting? Finally, however, we got to work: Mooch slipped the barrette into the lock and twisted it until the lock snapped open with a satisfying _click_. Mooch giggled that disturbing giggle again as he pushed the door open. "Sweet, that was easy," he scurried down to Skip's cage and proceeded to open up the cat's cage. Meanwhile, I stuck my head out between my cage bars and struggled to fit my antenna wires into the lock. They fit, but unfortunately electricity and metal surfaces don't go well hand-in-hand, and my brain suffered some mild spasms before the lock sprung open and I sprung out. I flapped around in midair, getting reused to the sensation of flying, before zooming over to unlock Dave's cage. He was a bent old guy with a fluffy, reddish mantle, and scars all over his body like he'd been caught in a laser gun invasion. It was a little weird actually facing the geezer I'd confided in so many times before on the other side of a metal box.

He nodded thankfully as his door opened. "Thanks, Koda."

I shrugged. "_Rip snort,_ we're all in this together." He and I flapped off to release the rest of the room. Hector and Gordon, the two koalas next to Iris, cheered us on as we let them out. After the first four doors, my antenna gave up shocking me, but there was still a low, annoying _hum _in my ears.

Within all of twenty minutes, Room 1A was transformed into a petting zoo as animals hopped, crawled, slid or flew around. There were kookaburras, a lorikeet, and a big cockatoo with several feathers missing from her wings and the crown of her head; Hector and Gordon, plus a Tasmanian devil, Skip, Heather, Iris, Mooch and a couple pademelons were among the mammals, and we also had a small assortment of little snakes and frogs. I felt like I was caught in the middle of an awkward family reunion. I'd never really talked to the other animals, but we all kind of had a strange sort of bond, nonetheless.

Mooch scurried up to the ventilation system where he fiddled with the screws securing the cover. After a mini-eternity, the rat succeeded in pulling one big fat stinkin' screw out_._ Hector and Gordon, realizing that escapes shouldn't take mini eternities, climbed up beside Mooch and helped him by taking the remaining three out. Thanks to their freaky, interconnected indexes and two thumbs, the koalas removed the cover in no time.

The route was open, but no one moved. Stuck in a cage every day can do that to you. "_Warped corpses!_" I huffed, impatiently. "Guys, the door's not gonna slam into us from behind! We can leave anytime, now!" It didn't help.

One of the snakes hissed, "Sssure, we can g-go now, but what if he findss uss again?" The little reptile coiled worriedly.

The Tasmanian devil, who hadn't said a word all evening, not even when Dave had let him out, remarked quietly, "We've spent our days living in cages, subjected to horrible treatments that other animals only have nightmares about. We deserve this chance now, to escape and live the rest of our existences where we belong. We need this, everyone. Hey, Rat," he looked up at Mooch. "If you know where we're going, then lead the way."

_Talk about show-stoppers._ Mooch slipped inside the ventilation hole without another word. The animals relaxed, allowing themselves to be carried up to the hole until Room 1A was completely void of anything furred, scaled or feathered. Dave and I were the last ones to leave. I hovered in the entrance of the black sqaure, staring around the room that had been my questionable home for so long. Truth be told, I was way more than a little jittery about venturing outside into a world I barely knew, except from my pup-hood. I turned to fly after Dave when I heard the worst sound I could possibly hear at that moment: _Cree-aak_. The double doors swung open to reveal Ol' Sunshine himself, and he did not look happy.

* * *

Super sorry for the delay, I've just been having some rather dramatic weeks here, but school is letting out soon and hopefully I'll get back on track with this story :P

*** -that's actually how fruit bats get their mates, through their amazing lung capacity, until the female is either deaf or figures she can shut the male up by agreeing to be his mate ;)**


	6. Chapter 6

_Short circuit side effects!_ Why did he have to be here this late? I hovered, staring at those dark, boring eyes of his; that severe, hated face. I couldn't move away, well I mean I could, I just didn't. For a moment, the two of us just stared at each other, and then Darwin snapped into action.

"Oh, no you don't!" he growled and stepped forward. I broke from my trance and searched wildly about for a place to escape. The ventilation temporarily left my mind and I flapped up to the light fixture, not really thinking, just in a blind panic and going anywhere where Darwin wasn't. Unfortunately, due to my panic, I smacked into the light.

This latest blow must have given my antenna the kickstart it wanted, and the next thing I knew, I was screaming, "_Fractured figs_, I'm going into hyperspeed!" I twitched and jerked like I was attached to a 100-volt fence.

Darwin swiped at me but I managed to evade him; don't ask me how, because on rare occasions, when my adrenaline level is close to bursting, my antenna shifts into overdrive and as a result, all those hormones and electricity running rampant through my system will cause a sort of lapse in my sight, so I was literally 'flying blind'. And it was a nuisance - I was slamming into walls and light fixtures like a runaway missile, crying bloody murder, and I bet I was really missing out on some classic Darwin Angry-Faces. As I mentioned much earlier, he has some really funny expressions when he gets mad. _Warped banana peels!_

After a few minutes of this charade around the room, I realized I was getting nothing done except make my own eardrums ring and earn a few bruises, I wheeled about in mid air, forcing my heart rate down enough so that I could make out a safe direction. Just as I caught the outline of the ventilation system through my foggy eyes, I was suddenly yanked out of focus - and the air - as Darwin had finally caught up with me.

"_Short circuit side effects,_ man!" I lunged, trying to bite him. "If you were in my position, you would want to leave too!" I flailed in his hold, trying to swipe at his face, but he held on with a death grip. Soon, I had near exhausted myself, with nothing to show for it except ragged breathing and a sparking antenna.

Darwin smirked. "You're staying right here; my research with you has been the most important, bat, don't you see that? You've survived everything I've thrown at you."

Instead of feeling pride at the obvious admiration in his voice, I was getting more and more enraged. _Jerk_, I thought viciously. _You are gonna_ pay_ for what you did to me! _Darwin's grip had relaxed ever so slightly, but it allowed me to wrench my wing up and smack him in the face.

Darwin sputtered, obviously stunned and as I hoped, he let go of me. I dive-bombed him, veering off at the last second to give him a scare. Darwin swiped at the empty air like he was swatting a bunch of mosquitos. And then I got a really nasty idea. Swooping around, I knocked some of the glass tubes and beakers onto the floor where they broke with a satisfying crash. I cackled somewhat cruelly, but I didn't care. This was payback, long-awaited, delicious payback.

"Yo, Darwin!" I called mockingly, my antenna prompting me on; already, my vision was starting to get cloudy. "This is for all those times you drugged me. Sound familiar?" I aimed and threw a paperweight at the light fixture. That felt really good.

The light snapped and sparked and then burst, scattering sparks and dislocating from its place in the ceiling, crashing onto the floor, causing a short-out. "And that was for all those times you cut me open!"

Dave was still at the opening, gesturing wildly for me to come. I ignored and sneered at Darwin, who stared at me like he actually understood what I was saying. The sparks from the light settled on bits of paperwork on the counter and started to smoke.

"And this," I hissed, yanking the computer cord from the wall. "I'm taking all this away from you, like you took everything away from _me!_" I felt tears sliding down my face and I choked on my words, I was so mad. I tore through the rubber covering on the outlet wire and I pushed it up to the papers that were already starting to flame. Darwin still faced me; I couldn't read his expression. "Your life's going up in smoke, just like mine did!" I croaked.

_Sprzak!_ The wiring caught hold of the flames and crackled, short circuiting the microwave which blew out and more sparks caught onto the table and the walls. "Yeah!" I screeched, trying to avoid the flaming mini inferno I created. "This'll give ya a nice tan!"

I dove towards the ventilation system. Darwin still stood, staring at the mess. I peeked out, even though Dave was tugging on my wing. The red alert lights flashed on and that awful buzzer beeped, along with a female voice that said, "Warning, fire, warning, fire. Evacuate immediately, evacuate immediately."

Darwin looked over my way. The sprinkler system turned on, soaking him and everything in the room. He stared at me, and a sort of unseen connection passed between us. He understood.

I let Dave pull me away then and I let the tears fall unheeded. They were tears of fear, or anger and of… what was this, sadness? I set fire to a lab room, didn't I? I broke off a light fixture and shattered their equipment. I got everyone out. So why did I feel like this? Why did I feel all crummy? My last conscious thoughts were of the bright yellow blaze getting smaller and smaller and then I fainted.

* * *

Someone or something bumped my antenna and it short-circuited; I bolted awake and stared into the face Dave, who appeared to be looking down at me, sort of concerned. His expression changed into one of relief. "Whew, thought you were taking the deep sleep for a second there." The older fruit bat helped me up and it was then I remembered.

"_Ung_…" I I groaned. "_Warped banana peels_… I did it, didn't I?"

"Did what?" Dave looked curious.

"I set fire to the lab room? Darwin was there, wasn't he?"

Dave nodded gently. "Yep. I'm proud of you, Koda, although you did spaz out a tad and I was worried you'd blow a fuse inside your head, but you stuck it out and showed him who was boss." He nodded again, thoughtful.

As Dave dragged me along, I realized we were at the back of the line of escapees, or at least that's what I thought; I couldn't really see that far in front of my nose, but I could still tell by sound and smell that Dave and I were somewhere near the back, if not at the back itself.

Someone furry brushed up against me and I recognized Iris' chattering voice. "How you holding up, Koda?" I was about to ask who this really was as it couldn't have been Iris. _My_ Iris? The one who called me 'brain-fried' and 'wacko'? Her tone was quieter, almost _understanding_!

I shook my head, trying to clear my head and mumbled back, "I-I guess okay… thanks, Iris."

The chinchilla tittered happily and wrapped a tiny paw around my shoulder, to support me. Okay, now I was even _more_ surprised.

Mooch's voice sounded from up ahead. "How's everyone back there? Koda? You still with us?"

Before I could answer, Dave spoke for me. "He's awake; just give him a minute, he's a little burned out."

I didn't get the pun at first, if it indeed was meant to be a pun, but then I started laughing, which quickly escalated into full out hysterics, my unsteady knees almost buckling. Dave and Iris probably didn't know what I was laughing at, or why, but I had them laughing within a few seconds.

Voices ahead asked in confusion, "What's that sound?" "Who's laughing?" "What's so funny?"

All three of us were hardly walking anymore; we were on the verge of sprawling flat out on the floor of the ventilation system, helpless with laughter. Suddenly, a paw taped my middle and I broke off my fit of giggles with a panting, "Whaha-_whaa_?"

Skip was in front of me. "Well, you sound better," the cat purred, amused. His tone sounded amused, I'm not sure what his expression was. _Sheesh,_ it was so dark in here!

Dave and Iris quickly recovered and we resumed walking. Suddenly, I felt myself being lifted up, flipped over and lying down on Skip's back. The cat chuckled as I felt his pace quicken. "Maybe I better keep you with me so you won't be holding the ranks up back there."

I smiled and lay back down, feeling, underneath Skip's sleek fur, his shoulder blades as they worked. I bounced up and down in sync to his steps until it felt like I was inside a popcorn machine. Soon he stopped. I guessed we were at the front so I sat up, useless as I knew it would be to see anything in this bleak place, and listened.

I heard skittering below me and Mooch's voice piped up. "I smelled air this way, so keep close everyone, there're a bunch of separate tunnels around here. Grab onto anyone in front of you until I say so."

I clutched Skip's fur as we proceeded cautiously along. Mooch scurried away again, probably sniffing out our route or… I frowned. What 'or'? I remembered. _His brother…_

Just then, Skip and I both heard muttering up ahead. Mooch was talking to himself. I listened closely.

"_No, no, no…_ he wouldn't come this way? Oh, for cryin' out loud… Okay, calm down, Mooch, we'll just find another way around –"

Skip broke in, startling me. "What's up, Mooch?"

Even if I couldn't see Mooch, I knew him well enough to imagine what his facial expressions would be. Right now would be surprise. "Huh? What? Oh, nothing…" This would slowly shift into guilt. "Ahh, what I mean is…" Here it was: flat out helplessness. "I can't find the tunnel! There are three here and I can't tell which is the right one!" Mooch blurted.

_We're lost?_ I asked, panic not yet taking hold.

Skip stepped up. "What do you mean?" The cat sounded softer, more paternal that I'd ever heard him before. He probably figured he wouldn't get anywhere snapping at Mooch now, especially in this situation.

Mooch chattered nervously. "I-I was sniffin' around and… well… his scent's gone, I can't tell where he is."

"Where _who_ is?" Skip's voice rose slightly. I heard everyone behind us stop and begin whispering among themselves.

Skip called back to them. "Everyone rest up, we're taking a break." He walked up ahead, carefully, making sure he didn't step on Mooch in the total blackness. I heard Mooch skittering around.

"I can't find him!" Mooch wailed quietly.

"**Who?**" Skip sounded impatient. I was about to answer for the frazzled rat when a deeper, raspy voice from up ahead frightened us all.

"Hey, little brother," the voice chuckled. "You found me, good fer you."

I smiled in the silence that followed. I knew who it was, and it was clarified for everyone around by Mooch the next second.

"Rufus!" the rat squealed in delight. I heard skittering and then a muffled "_Oomph!_" which I assumed signaled a bear-hug between the two. I smiled wider, glad that Mooch had found his sibling and feeling once again that tiny pang of jealousy.

"I'm so glad we found you, bro!" Mooch declared. "I followed your trail like you said, pretty good, huh?"

"Yeah, you did good, Mooch." Rufus sounded proud.

Skip spoke up, well, spoke down, to the newcomer. "So, you're Rufus… Mooch used to drive me nuts braggin' about you. Escaping into the ventilation system; that was a pretty crazy move."

"Yer all a little crazy for following me," Rufus winked, or sounded like he would have winked. _Liquid detergents!_ Was there any chance of light in this black hole?

"So, Rufus?" Mooch broke in, excitedly. "Didja find it?"

Rufus paused. "I found one 'it', but there might be others. How many have you got?"

I blurted, suddenly. "All of Room1A is here, _sir_!" I slipped off Skip's back and crawled along the floor until I bumped into a furry figure. "Oh, sorry, my bad," I mumbled, all tongue-tied. "Batty Koda here; pleased to meet you, Rufus. It's a real honor, actually." I stuck out my wing and felt Rufus grasp it uncertainly.

The rat chuckled. "Sweet name, Batty Koda, and thanks,"

Mooch whispered something and Rufus suddenly broke into laughter. "**Seriously?** Dude, you're messed up!" He clapped me on the back. "That was a sick move, bat! I should be thanking _you_ for taking out 1A!" The rat chuckled again.

I could feel my face heating up with a blush. "Thanks," I mumbled shyly.

Rufus directed his voice back to Mooch. "Well, let's get moving. We've got another hundred feet or so to go."

I found Skip and climbed back on. "You don't mind, do you?" I asked hesitantly. The cat cleared his throat.

"Nah, you're feather-light, I hardly noticed you had dropped down until I heard you speak." The cat snickered.

I tossed my head, moodily. "I guess I just got the 'lean-and-mean' physique."

"You mean 'skin-and-bones', right? You don't know 'mean', Koda, you're a creampuff."

"What?" I asked, slightly insulted. "I set fire to an entire lab room!"

"That doesn't make you mean. Did you plan to do that?"

I paused and admitted, somewhat miffed. "No,"

"Case and point: you're a regular mister goody-goody vanilla-bean," the cat chortled as he continued walking.

* * *

We walked through the darkness for what seemed like forever. I hadn't seen a speck of light for over an hour now and I was getting sick of this eternal blackness. Since I am in fact a day bat - being a fruit bat - my internal clock is akin to you humans: awake during the day, asleep at night. That's how it usually goes, if I'm not going through insomnia. But this was just ridiculous.

I was still atop Skip, so I poked him. "Do you know where Rufus and Mooch are?" This was a nagging question I had on my mind because, if Skip had lost track of them, and he was the third in line, what were the rest of us supposed to do? Fortunately, Skip grunted back, "Yeah, they're right in front of me."

Letting my worry get the better of me, I asked again, "You positive?"

Skip sighed, sounding slightly annoyed. "Yeah, I'm positive." This assurance, however, was wasted on me, as I was practically going out of my mind with worry.

"Only fools are positive," I shot back. Skip paused and I hoped he wouldn't snap at me but instead, he chuckled.

"Are you sure?"

Before I realized what I had said, I blurted, "I'm positive…" I hunched my shoulders when Skip started to snigger, a little embarrassed.

I almost shouted a big 'Hallelujah' when I heard Rufus call back. "Okay everyone, we're here." Our group sent up a big cheer at this. But the rat wasn't finished. "Just one thing: who can swim?"

I almost swallowed my tongue – not that I was hungry or anything and if I did in fact manage to swallow my entire tongue, it would'nt have tasted very pleasant – and croaked out, "**_Swim?_** Why, where are we?" I ignored all the nervous murmurs behind me.

Skip answered. "We're nearby the drainpipe, where it empties into the reservoir," he sounded slightly disgusted, not that I could really blame him.

I called down to Rufus. "Is this the only way out?" I didn't want to complain, but really, did he have any idea what he just asked? 'Who can swim'? As a bat, I'm suited for flying and I knew that several of the birds here would stand by me on that. We aerials probably wouldn't get very far in the water with our elongated forearms dragging us down. I shivered. I hate water as well.

Rufus sighed. "I'm sorry, but this is the only way I found, folks, and this took me nearly a month. Now I'm sure there are other ways, but if you can't pinpoint them out right now, this is your best bet."

_Now I lay me down to sleep…_ I could not believe this: we were actually going to escape via the drainpipe. Truly, luck had us in its favor. I could have just cried with joy if I didn't feel like I would cry with fear.

I tugged on Skip's shoulder, trying to keep the panic out of my voice. "Ah, ah, Skip," I swallowed. "Y-you won't go all the way under, will you? Cuz, um, I can't swim." That wasn't a fact – I had never tried to swim; there was never any need for me to swim, so I wasn't entirely sure if I could or could not in fact swim. I still didn't want to try.

Skip gave himself a little shake. "I can't guarantee that, so how about this?" He spoke up loud and clear. "Okay, feathers and wings back of the line! Everyone else who doesn't have a problem with the doggie paddle will go first." There are times when I am really super mad at this cat and times when I just want to hug him; this was one of those times. Skip was just a big, mangy, sour old guardian angel.

I gingerly let myself down from Skip's back and half-crawled, half-dragged myself along, jostling into other furry bodies as I went, until I reached the back. "Dave?" I called softly. _Suffering Sulphate!_ It did no good closing my eyes, waiting for them to adjust, it was just too dark! Luckily, though, I bumped into someone at the very back who managed a deep chuckle.

"Good to know you're still here, Koda," Dave spread a wing over my quivering shoulders but it didn't calm me down.

"Dave, we-we're gonna swim," this was a fact – we were going to swim to freedom… and most likely drop like a stone to the bottom of the reservoir.

Dave sounded sympathetic. "We don't have to swim, Koda. We're just going to try our best to overshoot the water, okay?"

That made me feel little better that I had previously.

Rufus' voice boomed ahead, "Single file everyone, like the cat said, four feet, scales, good swimmers going first. Wings at the back, and everyone else in between just be prepared to kick like crazy." We at the back – two bats and four birds – shifted ourselves anxiously. Up at the front, I could hear Rufus directing the four-footers how to land in the water, paddle over to the bank, etc. and then I heard him shout "Go!" and then "Next!" This was like a drill sergeant asking his soldiers to jump off a cliff.

"This is suicide," I muttered. "I'm gonna drop like a rock, I won't make it."

Dave, his wing still around my shoulder, pulled me a little closer to him so he could whisper. "Koda, we'll be fine."

The cockatoo agreed. "Yeh," she said in a thick Aussie accent. "It's gonna feel so good ta fly again, y'know?"

The lorikeet piped up. "Away from those cages, I can't wait to actually breathe real air!"

One by one, the animals at the front slid down the pipe, splashed into the assuredly dank water from the drains at the end, until it was our - the Wings' - turn. Rufus called to us. "Okay, wings, listen up: you're gonna slide down this pipe until you come to – bear with me, now – the light at the end of the tunnel. Once you see it, open your wings cuz you'll be going pretty fast and once you drop out, start flappin'. You should be fine, but if not, don't worry cuz everyone else is out there and'll help yah."

It sounded like a fine and good plan, all except for the fact that we were all close by each other and somehow all managed to trip forwards, tumbling head over heels – for the birds, head over meta-tarsals – down the pipe. Rufus shouted at us from somewhere far above, telling us to keep cool and just go with it. I managed to belt out a sincere "Thanks, man!" as I somersaulted down the metal pipe, assuredly dashing what little sanity and coherence I had left out of my conscious as well as acquiring quite a few more bruises.

Squawks and yelps battered their way into my abused eardrums as we continued. I was sure this would be something to laugh about later – all six of us winged things performing erratic and jumbled cartwheels down the pipe – but for right now, I was feeling pretty giddy, not to mention getting sick to my stomach and angry for having fallen down with everyone. I wanted to call out to Dave, but risked getting my jaw broken so I kept my mouth and eyes shut, but ears tensed, waiting for some sign that we were-

"**_Aha!_** I-I – _oof_ – see it!" One of the kookaburras squealed. I automatically opened my wings, but just then someone, I'm pretty sure it was the lorikeet, bashed into me and got tangled up in my membrane. I spat out the feathers in my face and tried to flap but we were stuck. And within spitting distance of the reservoir!

_No!_ I thought frantically, trying to free myself. _This can't be happening, we're not gonna make it, we're gonna drown!_ Flapping furiously, I tried to free myself and succeeded in prying myself off his back where I had landed. He, in turn, in that split second before we flew out the pipe, disentangled his claws from my wings (fortunately neither had been pierced) and managed to spread his wings.

My antenna sparked after being dormant for a while, but I didn't mind in the slightest. We were outta there! "Let's fly, mah homies!" I crowed with joy, free at last. However, as we soared through the air out of that pipe and into blinding sunlight, I squeaked in pain and squeezed my eyes shut. A stupid move on my part because now, I 1) could not see where I was headed and 2) as I closed my eyes, I completely forgot to unfurl my wings, which lead to 3), so I didn't catch an updraft.

My eyes snapped open a moment later and I saw with mounting horror where I was headed: straight down into the reservoir.

* * *

Hey, sorry y'all for my unexplained hiatus. The explanation: SUMMER :3

Ohnu, Batty :O


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